Haven inspired the forward when they were teammates, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah has bee tipped by former Cameroon and Barcelona forward, Samuel Eto’o to win this year’s Ballon d’ Or award.

Barcelona star, Lionel Messi and Juventus forward, Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated the award in the past decade. The pair had won this award five times each, with Ronaldo equaling Messi just last year.Salah was shortlisted for the 2018 Ballon d’Or award last month due to his performances for both club and country.

Eto’o, who played alongside Salah at Chelsea said: “I hope that Salah remembers the day we were together in Stamford Bridge dressing room after he’d had a poor performance,” he told Qatar’s Al Kass Sports Channel.

“I asked him to be patient and told him ‘You are a good player and you will become a great player’. “Salah has turned into that big player and will write his own story through persistence and strong desire.

“The whole thing depends on Salah himself, he has unbelievable skills and is currently performing at a top level that’s allowing him to compete for Ballon d’Or.”

Luka Modric may have won the Ballondor but Mo Salah has also won the hearts of millions. I hope that he continues to play like the way he did in the past year. What a striker Samuel Eto'o was. He had a chrisma that nobody in the modern era could match. What is his best ever moment?

Mohammad Salah didn't win the Ballon D' Or but Luka Modric got the ultimate prize. I think that he deserves it. I know that majority of the people will disagree with me but they need to see the results for themselves. He won the UEFA Champions League and reach the World Cup with Crotia.